‘Do one thing every week that scares you that contributes to a better world’: Insights from Thinkers50

On Sunday and Monday, I attended the biennial Thinkers50 Awards Gala - “the Oscars of management thinking” - at Guildhall, central London.

It was the first gala to be held in person since 2019. Consider what has happened since then. COVID. Black Lives Matter/George Floyd. Climate emergency. Russia/Ukraine. Cost of living crisis/inflation. Digitisation/AI. Palestine/Israel.

In the space of four years, disruption has become completely normal. The world is more unstable and it has completely changed how businesses and organisations operate. More is expected of leaders than ever before. As well as the day-to-day requirement of pursuing profitable growth, executives are now expected to take stances on social and environmental issues, and work out how their business models are going to be viable even in the short-term - let alone the long-term.

In this context, I would argue this year’s Thinkers50 event - the brainchild of Des Dearlove and Stuart Crainer - was the most important in its 22-year history of ranking and gathering management thinkers.

As the event introduction said: “Tackling the toughest challenges will require us to revisit many of our assumptions and preconceptions about the purpose of work, business, and power - and about the capitalist system itself. We need a boldness of intent and the courage to try new things. We need to think bigger and move faster.”

Essentially, leaders need to look at the risks their organisations are facing and turn them into opportunities if they are to have a sustainable future - and a place in society. Given the sheer pace of change in the world, and its instability, it’s an overwhelming task.

But one thing I enjoyed, from the various panel discussions, was an acknowledgement of the power of leaders taking small steps. In this newsletter, therefore, I am reflecting on seven insights from some of the world’s foremost business thinkers on actionable measures leaders can take to deviate from the status quo and transcend the challenges they are facing.

1. Embrace the power of doubt and courage

“Do one thing every week that scares you that will build a better world.”

Amy Edmondson , Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School, who was ranked number one on this year’s Thinkers50 ranking

2. Show empathy for colleagues like you would for family members

“I’ve worked with many organisations with the stereotypical [leader] who’s been there for decades and is only interested in KPIs, and feels empathy has no room at all. Yet when you see them outside of work, they ooze empathy with family and friends. We have got to encourage them: that is exactly the skill we need at work.”

Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM , author of Head & Heart and Adjunct Professor, Queensland University of Technology

3. In turbulent times, simplify your leadership

“Sometimes the idea of legacy is really overwhelming… [so] sometimes just start with: ‘What is my micro legacy? What is the impact I want to leave after this meeting? What is the impact I want to leave on my kids after breakfast in the morning?’ I find taking some of the big questions in bite-size pieces can make them obtainable.”

Alyson Meister, PhD , Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour, IMD

4. DEI and the simple power of noticing

“The biggest thing I’d like people to think about is the importance of noticing. What I want to do is share some of the things I have noticed just being here, so you get a sense of how I see the world. Coming in yesterday, I looked around the room and tried to see how many people of colour there were. I notice when I walk in a room. There were 40 to 50 tables, 500 people. On each table, how many people of colour were there? There were very few. So noticing that in every room you go in, on every Zoom screen, gives you the sense of: ‘What is representation?’ Do you know the representation in your organisation, if somebody asked you for the statistics? Because if you don’t know the numbers, if you don't notice, then you can’t change.”

Modupe Akinola , Barbara and David Zalaznick Professor of Business, Columbia Business School

5. Don’t get stuck in a state of doing

“When we are under pressure, we rely on our habits and autopilot. I have a sneaking feeling our habits on what gets said and what gets heard aren’t fit for purpose for the wicked problems we are facing.

“How the hell have we got into a situation where pausing in our organisations is regarded as weird, unnecessary or simply impossible?”

Megan Reitz , Associate Fellow at Sa?d Business School, University of Oxford, and Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Dialogue, Hult International Business School

6. Bridge polarities

“What might we actually learn from seeing social activists as friends rather than antagonists, like we do too often in business?”

Jim Detert , John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia Darden School of Business

7. Get off X!

“One of the core problems we face with a lack of common knowledge is the misinformation propaganda coming from a couple of key platforms. I would ask you to all consider, with your millions of followers, getting off X and Facebook - and be very public about it. Misinformation is driving a wedge, it’s making us miserable, it’s making us angry, it makes it impossible to solve things like climate change.”

Andrew Winston , founder, adviser, speaker and driver of change, Winston Eco-Strategies

In summary, it was an incredible two days being with a global community who are at the heart of thought leadership. Many thanks to Des and Stuart and the whole Thinkers50 team.

A message from the author

Thank you for reading the 55th edition of the?Leadership 2050?newsletter. You may be interested to know why I am writing it. As a senior fellow of management practice at the University of Oxford’s Sa?d Business School, my research and teaching focuses on how leaders transcend 21st century challenges such as disruptive technology change, the climate crisis and creating diverse and inclusive environments… alongside the ongoing challenge of delivering profitable growth. At Sa?d, I direct the Oxford Advanced Management & Leadership Programme and, in this capacity, work with leaders from many geographies, industries and governments. All this has given me a deep understanding of how good leaders create value - and bad leaders destroy it. One could argue that never before has this topic been so important on a global stage, hence why I am undertaking this work.